I have learned to exist in the shadows, to slip through glances

I have learned to exist in the shadows, to slip through glances, To be invisible in a crowd of faces, a different face for every room, A sweet smile for strangers, a false tenderness for lovers, A deep silence that echoes in my soul, an emptiness I keep only for myself. I have been everything they wanted to see in me, a sculpture shaped by expectations, But never something I could live with, A collection of roles, a theater of others' desires, an echo without its own voice, A soul that cannot find its place in the mirror of lies I've worn. I wonder if I will ever find that corner of peace where I exist alone, Where I can strip away the masks that are not mine, To look myself in the eyes of sincerity and accept my imperfections, To learn to live not just for others, but to be myself, to be whole.